₹6lakh Durgiana Temple theft: More skeletons tumble out

CONFESSION The cashier, who was arrested on Friday, said he had stolen over ₹20 lakh from the temple that were recovered from him, but claimed that he did not steal the ₹6 lakh

AMRITSAR: The city police have still not found the culprit of the ₹6 lakh theft that took place at the D ur giana Temple in Amritsar on Diwali eve.

Meanwhile, in a bid to solve the case, the police have reportedly unearthed a bigger theft of the temple funds.

Vishal, the Temple cashier, who was arrested on Friday in connection with the loot, has confessed to the police that he had stolen ₹20 lakh, that was recovered from him, from the exchequer of the Temple.

However, he refuted the char- ges of stealing ₹6 lakh, said the police. His confession has added another twist to the case.

Vishal was on duty of cashier at the prashad counter. The amountstolen on Diwali eve was earned from sales of prashad.

The temple’s managing committee came to know about the theft when one packet of the currency notes kept in the almirah went missing. On total, there were two packets of cash.

The cashier is said to have had an understanding with two accomplices.

The three were indulged in bungling of money for past 4-5 years, said the police.

Vishal used to delete the detail of earnings from the computer with the help of a computer operator-cum-technician, who is also a suspect in the case.

He used to bungle ₹10,000₹20,000 daily. He used to get only ₹9,000 monthly salary, but used to lived in a lavish house with luxury facilities.

It is yet to be assessed as to how much of the bungled funds were spent on his house.

Regarding the ₹6 lakh loot, it was learnt that the thieves had fled with notes of ₹2,000 denomination, and had left the ₹500, ₹100, ₹50 and ₹10 denomination notes, worth around ₹7 lakh, that were kept in a wooden almirah.

Around 10 staff members, including two cashiers and security guards, were rounded up by the civil lines police.

VISHAL TOLD POLICE THAT HE USED TO DELETE THE DETAILS OF EARNINGS FROM THE COMPUTER WITH THE HELP OF A TECHNICIAN, WHO IS ALSO A SUSPECT IN THE LOOT CASE